COMEDY CLUB Comic rarely uses an expletive

The Northeast Ohio native got a late start as a stand-up comedian.
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Billed as quick and clean, comedian Dan Grueter, who returns to Girard on Jan. 27 and 28 at The Funny Farm, wants to set the record straight.
"Yes, I am clean," said Grueter, calling from his Los Angeles home. "I'm not saying I'm not averse to using the f-bomb. There's definitely nights when the crowd's smoky and drunk and you have to do that to keep everybody's attention."
A frequent contributor to the "Bob & amp; Tom Show," heard locally weekday mornings on WNCD.FM 93.3, the 40-year-old funny man is used to cleaning up his act for radio but questions how any comedian today could find comedy club success without the occasional expletive to punctuate a joke.
"It's sad to say, you know what I mean, because people are like, 'Well, Bob Newhart never talked liked that,'" Grueter said. " I don't know if those guys would have ever made it today in the clubs. I can't speak for what standup was like in the '50s and '60s, but I just can't see audiences sitting and listening to a long, drawn-out story about Fat Albert. Comedy has definitely changed. In some aspects, people go to comedy clubs expecting a little raunchiness."
A Northeast Ohio native, Grueter says his comedy comes in basic monologue form with stories and jokes about family life growing up in the Buckeye State and now being a husband and father living in California.
How he started
Somewhat of a latecomer to the stand-up comedian game, Grueter entered a 1992 open-mic contest at the old Hilarities West 6th Street location in Cleveland. He ended up winning, somehow beating a full-figured female contestant in the clap-off. To this day, he has no idea how he pulled that off, but the entire experience was a valuable education.
"It took me years to write enough material for an open-mic night and then I go down there, win this, I get $50 and have to come back down the next week and perform in their regular showcase," Grueter said.
"I wasn't smart enough to know you didn't have to write new material every time you went on stage, so I wrote a brand-new five minutes and I completely tanked."
A few years passed before Grueter, then a business communications salesperson, quit his job and started making the rounds on the comedy club touring circuit.
"I was pretty late," Grueter confessed. "Most of my friends are settling down, buying their first houses, having families, and here I am, my girlfriend left me and I moved to a smaller apartment."
He put nearly 60,000 miles on his convertible in one year before moving to Chicago and eventually relocating to Los Angeles. That's where he's been working steady for six years, including an appearance on the "Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn."
Glad to come home
Averaging roughly half the year on the road, Grueter is looking forward to revisiting the Youngstown area, where he first got his start at The Funny Farm.
"I've always had a good time in Youngstown," Grueter said. "And it's important to be just plain damn funny. You have to put the puck in the net. If people are going to pay for a sitter, pay for tickets, pay for drinks, you better be funny."